Switching Sides
by United States of Awesomness
Summary: Love is a miraculous thing, it offers comfort in the bad times and joy in the good. But love is a fickle thing that can damage a heart, or even tear it to pieces. Adrien learns this after years of loving Ladybug. All he wants is for her to return his love so they can be together but things take a turn for the worse when he is tempted by the evil hidden deep inside of the black cat.
1. Chapter 1

Marinette brows furrowed, having been distracted by Adrien all class long, and not in the normal way. Adrien seemed to be lost in his own thoughts, as if considering a life altering decision. She was glad over the last couple years she had known Adrien that they had become better friends, not only that but she could not speak to him without melting into a pile of goo. Once the bell rang she shoved her things in her bag and walked over to talk to him, "Hi, Adrien!" She said, just barely catching the model's attention, "Something on your mind?"

"Oh, nothing important," He said, brushing the question away as he ran a hand through his hair in the sort of way that distracted Marinette for a few moments

"Adrien's just having problems with his old man," Nino piped in, probably already having heard all about Adrien's problems since he was his best friend.

"Oh, sorry about that, I hope everything works out. So, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out this afternoon?" Marinette asked nervously, having gotten a little better at asking Adrien to hang out. They had become better friends since they met but she had never had the courage to confess her true feelings.

Adrien looked at Marinette for a moment, seeming to think deeply about something, "Sure, why don't we go to the movies? Maybe get some dinner to," He suggested with a charming smile that left Marinette swooning, "I'll pick you up at five?"

She nodded, watching him stand up and walk out with Nino. She didn't even notice as Alya walked up to her and gave her a congratulatory punch on the arm, "You go, girl. If I didn't know any better, I would say you just got a date with Adrien tonight,"

Marinette's face immediately lit up in a bright blush, "A-A date? Are you sure? Do you think it's really a date? I mean we are seeing a movie, and then getting dinner… alone… Oh my god it's a date!" She squealed, her excitement freezing in a near instant, "I'm not ready. I need to go home, take a shower, get dressed, do my hair, oh I have so much to do, I have to go. Bye Alya!" She stammered, hugging her best friend hastily before dashing out the door to get ready.

" _Father."_

" _Son."_

" _I've thought about this for a long time."_

" _And?"_

" _...I'll do it."_

" _Good, come with me and we'll talk about it more."_

Marinette squealed when she heard a knock on the door, she would have ran into the door with the speed she was going in her father hadn't stopped her. She was wearing a scarlet dress accented with black lace and an ebony ribbon around her waist. She shooed her father away, not about to let him ruin her first date with Adrien before opening the door.

Adrien stood behind the door in a pitch black suit and tie that contrasted amazingly with his blond hair and green eyes. He held out a single red rose to Marinette with an endearing smile playing on his lips. A blush spread across Marinette's cheeks as she realized, yes, this was definitely a date. She took the rose with a shy smile, squeaking out a thank you.

"Let's go," Adrien said, offering his arm to the blushing girl. Marinette took his arm and he walked her to a restaurant next to the theater. The poor girl was playing with the hem of her dress nervously as Adrien sat next to her in the booth.

"They have really good sea bass here," Adrien said conversationally, glancing over at her.

"O-Oh, is it? I think I'll try it," She said with a small smile, looking up as the waitress came over to take their order. Once the woman left, she was all alone with Adrien and no idea what to talk about.

"You're a fashion designer aren't you?" Adrien said, catching her attention, somehow, just the sound of his voice helped the tension flood from her, "What kind of clothes do you want to focus your career on?"

"Um, well I really enjoy designing evening dresses. There's just so much you can do with it, there's floral patterns, stripes, polkadots, not to mention ribbon and lace you can add to the dresses. I um," She paused, becoming bashful, "I actually made this dress myself,"

"I think it's beautiful," Adrien said, patting Marinette's leg and making her flush even more.

"I-I also like to design suits too, there's um, less to do with them but I love adding my own personal touch that makes it unique," She said, staring at the table.

"That's really cool, maybe you can make me some clothes sometime," He said with a warm smile. The waitress swung by their table and delivered their food, leaving the two of them too busy eating to continue talking.

Before long, they were in the theater and halfway through the movie she realized that Adrien's arm was around her shoulders. The blush returned to her cheeks but at least this time it was dark enough that he couldn't see it.

She hid her blush through the whole movie, unable to get it to subside with Adrien's arm draped around her shoulders. She didn't know what suddenly made him so forward with her, he had never returned her advances before but she was by no means going to question it.

Marinette, being the love sick teenage girl she was, was watching the rom-com with her full attention and was completely engrossed when the two leads kissed in the end. So engrossed in fact that she didn't notice Adrien leaning towards her until his lips were touching hers. Whatever red tint that had left her cheeks had returned with a vengeance as he kissed her and she shyly attempted to return it.

Adrien chuckled softly as he broke the kiss, his eyes expressing a sense of adoration for Marinette, "You're so cute,"

She was swooning on the entire walk home, getting another kiss on her doorstep before her father opened the door. Marinette giggled, pushing the intrusive man away and stepping inside, "Thank you for the wonderful night Adrien,"

"And thank you for making it wonderful, have a good night," Adrien said, giving her a charming bow before walking off.

Marinette closed the door and leaned against it as she attempted to get her speeding heart rate down. Squealing, she raced to her room to call Alya and tell her everything.

* * *

"Hello there, my lady," Chat said as he swung onto the roof where Ladybug was waiting for him, "Have you been waiting long for me?"

"Not too long, or else I would have left already, you know that Chat," Ladybug said with a small giggle. She was still feeling light and airy after her date with Adrien.

"My lady, you wound me," Chat said, pressing a hand to his chest in mock hurt. The tilted his head slightly as he observed Ladybug, seeming to notice her somewhat dazed look, "Did something happen, my lady?"

She glanced at him, only just realizing that she had been spacing out, "Huh, oh sorry, I just came back from a date with my crush of nearly three years and it went really well," She said, swooning at the memory of being kissed by Adrien/

Chat frowned slightly, a small spark of frustration and anger glinting in his eyes. He stood there silently, agitation coming off of his suddenly tensed body.

"Chat, are you okay?" Ladybug asked upon noticing his agitation, "You're not still mad at me about our little argument are you?" She asked in a guilty tone, remembering the first time Chat ever seemed even a little mad at her.

 _It wasn't very often that Ladybug talked about her civilian life, let alone her civilian crush but when she got talking about it, she didn't stop. It was the prior week when she was up on the roof with Chat, already having done enough patrolling for the night and just enjoying each other's company now._

" _He's so sweet and caring, always looking out for other people. It's hard to believe how kind he is given his difficult home life but there's no doubt he's the most amazing person in the world," Ladybug said, having been prompted to tell Chat about her crush._

" _I'm sweet and caring too, bugaboo," Chat purred, leaning in closer to Ladybug only to be pushed away again._

" _Yeah, but you two are different. He's just… amazing," She said, swooning at the thought of her crush._

" _And I'm not?" Chat asked, a little bit hurt about how much she talked about this guy. He had been pining after her for almost three years and she would still barely give him the time of day. All she wanted was this stupid crush of hers who was too stupid to see that an amazing girl loved him._

" _Huh? Oh, well, you're cool too… and you're an amazing partner, but that's all we are Chat, partners, you know that," She said, attempting to be sensitive._

" _Now more than ever," He murmured, "I think I'll take my leave, my lady. I have an early morning so I should really get some sleep. I bid you adieu," He said with a bow, hopping off the roof before she could say anything._

"No, no, it's not that," Chat said, sighing in deep thought, "Hey, Ladybug?"

She furrowed her brows, Chat Noir almost never called her that. He always called her his lady or bugaboo or sometimes ever bug, but never Ladybug, "Yeah…?"

"I don't know if you're ever going to love me with your mask on… I just wanted to let you know my reasons for what I'm doing," Chat said with a straight face.

"Chat what are you talking-" A muffled scream escaped her throat when a wet cloth pressed up against her face, almost instantly making her world turn black.

* * *

Chat sighed, brushing Ladybug's bangs out of her eyes as he picked her up carefully, he still loved her after all. But he had come to the conclusion that as long as their masks remained, as long as he couldn't spend every waking minute trying to get her to love him, then she never would. That's why he ever agreed to do this in the first place. He jumped from rooftop to rooftop on his way back home where he was sure his father was waiting for him impatiently.

He jumped through the window of his bedroom, walking to a guest bedroom and setting Ladybug down on the bed. She looked beautiful there, he wanted to keep her forever but she was a free spirit and that was one of the things he loved about her.

"Good job, Adrien," Chat turned around to see his father walk into the room, transformed into his Hawk Moth persona. Their relationship was still incredibly tense at best but Chat had found it easier to talk back to him when transformed.

"Don't call me that, Ladybug doesn't know who I am yet," Chat said, turning back around to look at Ladybug.

"Go on then, take her earrings for me," Hawk Moth said insistently. Chat knew his father was used to getting what he wanted when he wanted it so it must be hard for the man to have waited for this for so long.

Chat shot him a quick exasperated glare before looking back at Ladybug, he would finally know what her true identity was, "I hope you know father, I'm not doing this for you," He had tried to let go of Ladybug for his own good, tried to forget about how much he loved her by going on a date with that cute Marinette girl but he just couldn't ignore how much he loved her. He couldn't just forget how she had his heart skip a beat every time she touched him. He needed her in his life more than anything else, "I'm sorry about this my lady," He said as he reached towards her spotted earrings, caressing one of them before reaching behind her ear to remove it.

As if flipping a switch, Ladybug's eyes popped open and her hand shot up to grab Chat's, making him freeze in place.

* * *

Ladybug slowly gained consciousness, her senses coming back to her one by one. Touch, taste, smell, hearing…

"I'm sorry about this my lady,"

The moment she felt a hand on her earrings, she knew something was wrong. Her instincts kicked in and she felt her arm shoot out all on it's own to grab the intruding hand. Her eyes were wide, a feeling of dismay and betrayal hitting her like a ton of bricks. Everyone was shocked still for a moment, but the tears that stung in the corners of her eyes brought her back to reality, "You stupid cat!" She screamed as she roughly pushed him away, adrenaline flooding through her body as she sprung up and jumped straight through the window.

She hardly noticed how the shards of glass dug into her skin or how Hawk Moth behind her yelled at Chat to go get her. She didn't look behind her to see if she was being followed, she was running on auto pilot, not even considering what would happen if Chat managed to follow her all the way home.

Ladybug crash landed onto her roof with a weak cry of pain, both physical and emotional. Alya was an amazing friend for sure but Ladybug knew that Chat had become her closest friend, she never expected him to betray her like this. She staggered into her room, locking both the trapdoor to the roof and the one to the living room downstairs. Releasing her transformation, she fell into her swiveling chair, the pain of her cuts beginning to intensify as the adrenaline ran out.

"Marinette!" Tikki squealed with concern, the small kwami immediately zipping around the room to try and find some sort of bandages, "It's going to be okay Marinette, everything is going to be fine, you can handle this," She said encouragingly as she brought a roll of bandages over to her. The kwami began cleaning Marinette's cuts and wrapping them in bandages.

"How could Chat do that…?" Marinette murmured, staring down at the floor with a hopeless look, "He… I… I thought we were friends…"

"You've always known how he feels about you Marinette," Tikki said as she moved on to another cut, "He loves you, Hawk Moth probably promised him that he could have you if neither of you had your miraculouses."

"I don't know what to do Tikki, I've always had Chat fighting by my side, I don't know if I can beat Hawk Moth _and_ Chat Noir," Marinette said, feeling like she had already lost the battle.

"Don't give up Marinette, Chat Noir still has a good heart, he's not going to let Hawk Moth akumatize anyone so why don't you take a little break from Ladybug," Tikki suggested, finishing up Marinette's bandages and flying up to float right in front of her, "You need some time off to calm down. If you don't have a straight mind then you'll never be able to help Chat Noir,"

Marinette sighed, looking up at Tikki, "You're right…"

* * *

Adrien yelled out in aggravation as his fist connected with the wall. His breath came heavily as he watched blood drip down the now splintered wood of the wall.

"Adrien," Came his father's calm voice, "Calm down, I have no doubt she will show her face if someone is wreaking havoc on the city and then we will have her in our grasp again,"

"No!" Adrien snapped, whipping around to glare at his father, "We do this my way, or not at all. You will _not_ evilize a single person in this city or our deal is over. I'll take care of it myself…" He growled, ignoring the feeling that he had lost Ladybug forever after that episode. She probably hated his guts the moment she opened her eyes, "Please get out of my room," He said quietly, taking a deep breath as his emotions simmered down to a numb feeling.

His father stood there for a moment longer before nodding silently and complying to his request. Adrien was left all alone to wallow in his own pity. He had been so close, so close to taking Ladybug's earrings and ending everything once and for all. He and Ladybug could be together without any secrets or limited time.

He felt completely hopeless, and tried again to listen to the voice in the back of his mind telling him that Ladybug would never love him and to just move on, be with a girl who actually liked him. All he could do was try again tomorrow and try with all his might to replace Ladybug.

* * *

"Oh my god, girl, what happened to you?" Alya panicked in concern, rushing over to Marinette as she walked into the room.

Most of Marinette's bandages were under her clothes but there were a few she couldn't hide. Pointedly the ones on her forearm and, if her turtleneck slipped, the one on her collarbone. Marinette rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, "I may have dropped a hot cookie sheet on myself at the bakery last night…" She said sheepishly, happy that she could use her natural clumsiness as an excuse.

"Girl, you have to be more careful," Alya said with a sigh, her brows still furrowed with concern as she inspected the bandages.

"Marinette," The girl's heart jumped into her throat when she heard the voice of her long-time crush. Boyfriend? "What happened to you?"

Marinette would have answered but here eyes were drawn to the bandages wrapped around Adrien's right hand, "What happened to _you_?" She asked, immediately fussing over whatever injury Adrien had.

"Oh, it's nothing. I just stumbled and ran my hand through some glass. Now tell me what happened…" Adrien requested softly, putting his hands on Marinette's shoulders and making her flush.

Adrien's story sounded oddly familiar considering almost the exact same thing had happened to her last night, "I just got some minor burns from a hot pan at the bakery," She said, looking away in an attempt to hide her flushed face.

"You should be more careful…" He said, rubbing her shoulder before letting go, "Hey Alya, would you mind if I sat next to Marinette today?"

Alya was quick to agree upon realizing that meant she would be sitting next to Nino and soon class started with Adrien sitting rather close to Marinette. She was kind of intimidated to tell the truth, to have Adrien sitting so close to her in the middle of class. It was even more distracting than when he sat in front of her, if that were even possible.

The sound of a phone pierced the silence, leaving everyone looking for the disruptive device. The teacher listened carefully for a moment before walking up to a student's desk, "Ivan, go to the principal's office. Honestly, doesn't anyone know how to follow the rules in this school?" She asked in frustration, her anger only rising as another phone went off, "Sabrina, you as well. Out,"

Marinette frowned slightly, this didn't look good. Whenever something like this happened, something always followed close behind…

As if on cue, a purple butterfly flew through the open window and landed on the teacher's pointer stick. Before she even had time to feel shocked, Adrien was yelling at everyone to run and pulling her out of the classroom by the hand. She followed him without thinking, the familiar feeling of adrenaline filling her as time seemed to flash by until Adrien pressed her into a closet, "Stay here, you'll be safe," He promised before closing the door and running off.

As Marinette's pulse slowed, she noticed Tikki in front of her face trying to get her attention, "Finally! Marinette I know you need a break and I know this is all probably too much for you but everyone needs Ladybug right now!"

Marinette was silent for a moment, "I know…" She said somewhat solemnly, "Tikki, spots on,"

* * *

To say that he was mad would have been a vast understatement, in fact, he was fully considering murdering his father for doing this. But he had no time to think about it at the moment, instead he transformed and ran back into the classroom hearing the teacher's shrill voice ring through the classroom, "I am Ms Academy, I know everything! Listen to what your teacher says!"

He raced into the room, clearly angering the akumatized teacher. But the anger seemed to disintegrate a moment later to a more amused expression, "Chat Noir… You seem to be at a crossroads… Let Ms Academy help you, teachers know everything after all,"

Chat frowned, keeping his distance and eyed the teacher suspiciously, "And how exactly are you going to help me?"

The teacher chuckled all knowingly, "Why, I will help you relieve Ladybug of her miraculous of course,"

Chat's frown deepened when he heard his father's voice echo in the back of his mind like an unwanted pest, "Get Ladybug's miraculous and I'll release your teacher." Chat growled in irritation, yes, he was definitely going to kill his father. But… Even he had to admit that it wasn't the worst plan in the world.

"Fine, but you're not allowed to touch Ladybug, only I'm allowed to touch her," He said sternly to the teacher, driven by the idea of Ladybug finally being his. He glanced up at all the students, those who had become the teacher's victims and were now following her every command. He sat down next to one of them, crossing his legs and waiting for Ladybug to show up and save the day like she always did.

He didn't have to wait long before the women who stole his every thought burst through the door, "Hello there my lady," He could see the betrayal and accusation in her eyes but he cut her off before she could say anything, "Just so we're clear, I did not give permission for Hawk Moth to do this again. In fact, I told him he wasn't allowed to do this at all, so it's really not my fault,"

"Leave me alone Chat, you don't love me," She snapped before promptly ignoring him. Chat's heart skipped a beat, he didn't know why he loved her attitude so much, that stubbornness was just irresistible.

He watched her silently as she fought the akumatized victim, finding comfort in the knowledge that the teacher would be released one way or another. The battles always felt the same regardless of the akuma and that was probably why his father had never gotten their miraculouses. The fights were nothing more than avoiding whatever was being chucked at them, grabbing the akumatized item and snapping it in half.

Of course, that wasn't what happened this time. He eyes locked on Ladybug intently as she tripped backwards and lost her balance. His ever so keen cat-like reflexes kicked in and before she even hit the ground, Chat was on top of her, pinning her wrist to the floor.

He could see the terror that flooded into her eyes as she began to struggle, "Chat, let go of me, don't do this!" She said with a panicked voice, trying to release herself as Chat slowly moved her wrists above her head so he could pin them down with one hand.

"It's okay my lady," He said softly, his hand gently caressing her cheek in an attempt to calm her racing heart. She called his name again when he reached a gloved hand behind her ear, struggling more but to no avail. The first earring came off, making Ladybug's costume begin to glitter, as it about to disappear any second. When the second came off, a bright flash of light illuminated the room.

Chat slowly blinked his eyes open, his heart stopping as he recognized who it was he was pinning to the ground, "Marinette…" He whispered. His throat felt dry as everything began to line up, making him feel sick to the stomach, oh god…

He stood up and jumped out the window of the classroom, barely noticing that everything was already back to normal. In fact he hardly noticed that there was anyone else in the room, he just knew that he needed to go somewhere alone and think for a long time.

* * *

Adrien stood in front of the door to the classroom, trying to gather the courage to enter. He knew perfectly well that no one knew he was Chat, not even Marinette. Chat could very well disappear forever and they could ignore that he ever existed. Except that Adrien knew he existed, Adrien would know what happened, and it would burn a hole deep inside of him every time he so much as looked at Marinette.

Taking a deep breath, he walked through the door, looking up at everyone chatting as they waited for the bell to ring. His eyes locked on Marinette, this was a lot harder than he thought it would be. Her eyes were downcast with a lost expression, staring at the wooden desk without participating in the pre-class chatter. He gulped, walking up to her. He knew he wouldn't be able to sit through an entire class period feeling her gaze burn into the back of his skull, he had to get this over with now. "Hey Marinette… Can I talk to you…?"

She looked up at him, her usual stammer replaced with the ever lingering expression of loss. With a small nod, she stood up and they walked to the corner of the classroom for a little bit more privacy. She glanced at him expectantly, clearly wanting to get this over with fast so she could get back to her mourning.

"I… Marinette…" Adrien murmured, not sure how to start so he figured he might as well just come out and say it, "Ladybug…"

What followed was a range of emotions that morphed from confusion to realization to a mix of terror and rage as she stumbled back a few steps, clearly trying to create distance between the two, "Get away from me!" She yelled at him, tears burning in the corners of her eyes. Suddenly the classroom was silent and all eyes were locked on the two of them.

Adrien felt guilt manifest and take over as he tried to step forward, only making her flinch back, "Marinette, please, let me explain," He didn't know what he was going to say even if she let him explain but anything was better than flat out rejection.

"No, just leave me alone!" Her hands trembled as she took a couple more steps back.

Irritation bubbled inside of Adrien as he saw Alya get up and rush to Marinette's side. She had _no_ business here and should just be sitting down minding her own business.

"It's okay girl," Alya said, hugging Marinette and stroking her hair, "Maybe you should go Adrien," She said, glaring at him despite not knowing what was going on. No one knew what was going on and it pissed him off. Rage boiled inside of him at the people who were standing between him and Marinette, they were in his way.

He took deep breaths to calm himself down, glaring at Alya, something no one had ever seen him do before, his expression softening as he looked at Marinette, "I will see you again, my lady," He said with a bow before turning around and walking out of the classroom. Yes, he would be back, he would never give up on his lady until she loved him just as much as he loved her. But for now, he needed to get rid of the people in his way.

 **Hey guys! This is my first fic for Miraculous and I think it went really well. I had so much fun writing it and I hope you had just as much fun reading it. Let me know what you guys think! I don't know if I'm going to continue it or not, let me know if you want it to be continued and any ideas you may have to feed my creative juices. Thanks for reading! Bye!**


	2. Chapter 2

Adrien paced in his room silently, thinking about his next course of action as his Father stood at the doorway, waiting for him to speak. Adrien turned towards him abruptly, still mad over the akuma, "Let's get one thing out of the way right at the beginning. I have the Chat Noir miraculous. You have the Hawk Moth miraculous. My miraculous is more powerful than your especially since I have Ladybug's earrings now. You will not have either until I have Marinette,"

"That ring seems to make you forget that I am your father," The man said calmly, no doubt knowing full well that Adrien held the power now.

"You're not my father, you're my business partner and I plan on following my father's example of only keeping business partners that remain useful to me," Adrien snapped, he could tell that he was changing and before all this had happened it might have scared him but now he didn't care. Now all he cared about was making Marinette his and no one else's. "No more akumas without my permission, and don't expect me to be here after dark. I'll be out most nights," He said, planning on visiting Marinette later that night, somewhere she couldn't run away from him.

"I suppose I'll wait for you to need me then, so long as I get the miraculouses when this is all over," He said, recognizing that Adrien was a threat to him at the moment and he had to play along for now.

Adrien just nodded, not watching as his father left the room, instead staring out his window in the direction of Marinette's home. He hoped at least there that no one would stand in his way, after all, he didn't want to hurt anyone any more than he had to.

* * *

Marinette had her arms wrapped around herself the entire time Alya walked her home. She barely said a word to her parents before going up to her room, her friend stopping to tell the two that Marinette had had a particularly rough day and wasn't feeling well.

"Hello, Marinette," Said girl let out a quiet scream, whipping around to see Adrien in her room. Upon hearing footsteps rush up the stairs, Adrien swung the trapdoor shut and locked it, ignoring the banging against it as Alya demanded to know what happened, "Sorry my lady, I didn't mean to frighten you," He said with the same charming smile that she had once been in love with, his hand scratching the back of his neck in a classic 'Adrien Agreste' way.

"What are you doing here?" She seethed, wanting nothing more for him to just disappear out of her life forever.

"I wanted to see you my lady," He said simply, walking towards her and making her take an equal amount of steps back, "I want to talk to you about what happened…" He said calmly, holding his hands up in an universal sign for 'I mean no harm'.

"There's nothing to talk about. You betrayed me Adrien, you took my miraculous," Marinette said firmly, her voice cracked a bit as she thought about it again. Taking her miraculous was like taking away a part of her. Ladybug had become a part of who she was and now it was just all gone.

"We don't need them anymore, not if Hawk Moth's identity is exposed. We can just be ourselves now instead of living two lives," He said encouragingly, confident that he had his father under control since he had both miraculouses at the moment.

"What happened to you Adrien, this isn't you." Marinette said desperately, wanting to go back to the time when Adrien was nice and patient and always ready to save the day.

"Nothing happened to me, I just started realizing how much I need you," The sincerity in his voice made Marinette sick. She could tell that he believed every word he was saying, "I was right though, our miraculouses were keeping us apart. I told you everyday how much I loved you only to get rejected in favor of me without my mask. When I found out you were actually Marinette, I knew I had to do everything in my power to bring us together,"

"Adrien… You're scaring me, stop this. Give back my miraculous and we can expose Hawk Moth together. We're partners remember?" Marinette said hesitantly, taking a cautious step forwards.

"Oh I remember," Adrien said bitterly, his expression suddenly darkening, "We were partners, that was all we were. I want more than that now, and I'm going to get it one way or another," Whatever courage Marinette had summoned to take that single step forward disappeared at the sound of venom dripping from Adrien's voice. "You'll come to see things my way soon," He said, before climbing up to Marinette's roof. She only caught a glimpse of him as he transformed and flew away but the only thought that crossed her mind was why Adrien's costume had red accents on it now.

* * *

Marinette was hesitant to even go to school the next day, but she found comfort in knowing Alya would be there with her. He knew Alya wouldn't let Adrien get close to her. She felt a dreading sense of paranoia when she saw Alya wasn't already in the classroom but she calmed herself down with the thought that she was just running late.

Marinette sat in her normal seat, rummaging through her bag for her homework, "Good morning princess," She very near screamed at the voice coming from so close to her, nearly falling out of her seat when she realized Adrien was sitting right next to her.

"Go away, that's Alya's seat," Marinette said with a gulp, glancing at the door and hoping she would walk in at any second to help her.

"Sorry princess, but Alya isn't coming to school today, she had a little incident this morning," Adrien said innocently.

Marinette's heart stopped and her blood ran cold, "What happened, what did you do to her?" She asked in a low tone, scared of getting anyone else involved in this.

Adrien laughed softly, "You sound cute when you're all concerned. Don't worry, she's not hurt or anything, just having a hard time getting out of the house,"

Marinette tensed, she'd never known Adrien to be like this. He used to be the nicest person in the world, but now? Now he was obsessive and threatening and she felt completely helpless without Ladybug, "Leave her out of this, this is between you and me," She said defensively. She would hate herself if Alya got hurt because of her.

"You're right," Adrien agreed, "This between you and me, and I plan on keeping it between just you and and me with no one to interfere,"

Marinette frowned, Alya would never stop trying to protect her but doing that might get her hurt, possible even the both of them, "Thank you… for not hurting her…" She said, figuring it couldn't hurt to let Adrien know that keeping Alya safe made her happy.

Adrien beamed like a kitten who was given a treat, "You're welcome, princess," He said happily, content with turning his attention to the teacher for the rest of the class period.

It took half of the class period before Marinette could sit there without glancing at Adrien every thirty seconds as if he were about to attack her but she eventually managed to calm down and focus her energies on the class. She was feeling a lot better by the end of the class period, finding comfort in pretending that nothing had ever happened, but then, when the bell rang.

"How about I walk you home, Marinette. I'd like to have a talk with you," Adrien suggested with an all too kind smile.

She felt like an innocent child was giggling and asking her if she wanted to go kill someone with them, it was entirely unsettling, "I-I don't think so…" She said, unable to come up with a reason why not. Instead she hastily stood up and gathered up her things, watching Adrien do the same.

"Well why not?" Adrien asked, pouting like the cat he was.

It made Marinette's heart ache to be reminded of the kindness of either the Adrien or the Chat Noir that she remembered. He was still like that now but with an undertone of obsession, "I really should be getting home as fast as possible, I need to help my parents at the bakery," She said, saying the first excuse that came to mind.

Adrien brightened at that, following Marinette when she walked out of the classroom, "How about I give you a ride then? You'll get home much faster in a car than by foot,"

Marinette's heart dropped slightly at the offer, not only would that be much more intimate than them walking together, considering they would both be in the back seat together, but she had no excuse for that one, "I-I, um… o-okay…" She said, clenching her fists to keep them from trembling. She had no idea what this new Adrien would do to her, especially if they were alone, and she didn't want to find out, but it seemed she didn't have much of a choice.

Adrien grinned brightly, leading Marinette out of the school and to the black car waiting for them. He held the door open for her like she always imagined him doing as she climbed into the car, scooting over to make room for him to sit next to her. Her hands clenched when he did, feeling like he was far too close for comfort.

"I'm not going to hurt you Marinette, I could never do that," Adrien said, reaching over to cup her hand in his own, "I still love you,"

Marinette took a deep breath, staying silent for a moment, "I used to love you Adrien, a small part of me even used to love Chat Noir. But you broke my trust," She said, pulling her hand away, "You took my miraculous, and you teamed up with Hawk Moth to do it, the very person we were meant to defeat."

"I don't care about Hawk Moth, if you want him gone, he's gone Marinette," Adrien said quickly, "I only care about you,"

"We were supposed to defeat Hawk Moth together, Adrien, as a team," Marinette protested, frustrated that her identity of Ladybug had been stripped of her.

"And what then?" Adrien asked, "Once we defeat Hawk Moth, Paris wouldn't need us anymore. Our miraculouses would become useless and we might even have had to give them back to wherever they came from. We would have never seen each other again and never been able to know each other's true identities."

Marinette frowned, about to protest but finding the words stuck in her throat. Adrien was right, everything would have ended so abruptly she wouldn't even have a chance to reveal her identity if she wanted to.

Adrien reached for her hand again, holding it a bit more firmly than last time, "I've respected your wish to keep our identities a secret for a long time and it killed me inside every time I had to watch you leave. I wanted to know who you were so that I could love you all the time, not just the limited time I was allowed, being distracted by an akuma the entire time."

Marinette stared at her lap silently as the car stopped in front of her home. She pulled her hand away again, looking out the window, "Goodbye Adrien," She opened the door and walked out of the car without another word, walking into her home and going up to her room to spend a long time contemplating their conversation.

* * *

Adrien threw a chair across his room in frustration, taking deep breaths to calm down, ignoring the splinters scattered across his floor.

"You need to calm down, kid," Plagg said, flying out of Adrien's jacket, "You're going about this the wrong way," He said as he watched Tikki zip out of his jacket after him to hide somewhere in Adrien's bed.

"Shut up!" Adrien yelled at the kwami, having no patience for the tiny black cat, "You're nothing but a pain in the neck, if I could get rid of you I would," He snapped, glad that he would be giving up his miraculous after getting Marinette.

Plagg persisted, the normally laid-back kwami now seriously trying to get through to Adrien, for everyone's sake, "You're changing, this is all because-"

"Shut up!" Adrien repeated, going as far as to slap Plagg to the side, "I don't want to hear another word out of you _or_ that little bug until I'm ready to transform tonight," He grabbed Plagg by his whisker and dragged him over to the bed to crawl away with the other kwami.

He sighed in irritation, glaring as he sensed his father walking into the room. The addition of a second miraculous had allowed his Chat Noir powers to extend into his civilian life, granting him things like night vision and the ability to sense the things moving around him, "What the hell do you want?" He snapped, not bothering to turn around to face the man. Their relationship was tenser than it had ever been in the past but he liked it better than when he had no control over what his father told him to do.

"I merely came to offer my assistance. I have a method to further persuade Ms Dupain-Cheng to accept your advances," His father said in a less that encouraging tone.

Adrien frowned slightly, turning around to see a translucent purple butterfly in his father's hand. It wasn't like other akuma he had seen in the past. The majority were mostly black with specks of purple but this one was void of the dark color completely, "What is it?"

"It is a variation of the normal akumas I use to possess people. As you know, my akumas feed off of negative energy. Once the akuma enters a person's possession, I then have to make a deal with them before they will transform. This akuma has less evil energy in it that makes it able to enter a person's dreams. From there it can take on any form in an attempt to make a deal." He said, sending the butterfly to land on Adrien's shoulder.

Adrien looked at it, a smile growing on his lips, "I'll be delivering it tonight then," He said, letting the butterfly land on his finger and looking at it happily. Marinette would be his yet.

* * *

Chat landed gracefully on Marinette's roof, silently climbing into her room. He smiled upon seeing her sleeping figure, gently sitting on the bed next to her and brushing her bangs out of her face. Marinette was so beautiful…

He held his finger out for the akuma to land on, setting it down to be absorbed into her pillow. He smiled as he watched her, hoping that she was now dreaming good things about him.

* * *

 _Marinette walked into a familiar house, she didn't know how she knew it, but she did. Her feet took her to the kitchen instinctively where she began gathering ingredients. For what, she didn't know._

" _Welcome home, my lady," Came a voice in her ear, hands wrapping around her waist._

 _A warmth bubbled in her chest at the sweet sound of her husband's voice. Her husband? Who was her husband? She turned around in the man's hold, a smile spreading on her lips upon seeing Adrien. But wasn't she mad at him? She couldn't recall them getting into a fight. "It's good to be home, I was just going to start making some croissants for you, I know how much you love them," The sweet tone that left her lips was foreign to her but the warm feeling of love was not._

" _You're so good to me~" Adrien purred, leaning in to kiss Marinette slowly._

 _What once made Marinette's heart rate spike now made her melt as she returned the kiss. She broke away with a small giggle, "Settle down Chaton, we'll have time for that later." Time for what? What was she talking about?_

" _But you taste so sweet!" Adrien cooed, "Even sweeter than the amazing croissants you make for me," He said lovingly, leaving butterfly kisses on her face. He smiled at her, holding her close, "Be with me forever," He requested._

 _Marinette felt a yes on the tip of her tongue. But that wasn't right, why wasn't that right? "No," The single word caused a negative reaction, grief and lonesomeness flooding into her, as if she would never feel happiness again._

" _No?" Adrien asked with a gentle frown, "Why not? Don't you love me like I love you?"_

 _Marinette could feel hot tears streaking down her face, "No, I love you more."_

* * *

Adrien walked into class with a stupid smile on his lips, sitting in Alya's seat. She wouldn't be around today either, he wanted the day all to himself with Marinette.

"Adriekins! Why are you sitting next to Marinette's seat?"

He looked up to see Chloe walking through the door and over to him, "Leave me alone Chloe," He said, rolling his eyes and propping his head on his hand as he waited for Marinette.

"What?" She asked, pressing a hand to her chest in offense, "But Adriekins, we've been friends since we were kids!"

A small scowl pulled at the corners of Adrien's lips and he glared at Chloe, "Get it through your thick blonde head, I don't like you, no one does. Now leave me alone," He snapped.

Chloe stood there in shock, her mouth opening and closing a couple times without any words making it out. Everyone else stared at Adrien in the like, he never acted like this, he was never mean to anybody, not even Chloe no matter how much she deserved it sometimes.

"Adrien, dude, what's gotten into you?" Nino asked from his seat in front of Adrien, "You haven't been yourself recently,"

"Maybe I've never been myself and just none of you noticed, you guys ever think of that?" Adrien said with a scoff. That shut everyone up. None of them really knew Adrien until he came to school with them, they didn't know much about his past. None of them except Chloe anyway. The attention suddenly landed on her and for once in her life, she looked like she didn't want it.

It took the teacher walking in and catching their attention for Chloe to go sit down in her seat, looking more timid than she had in her entire life. It put everyone on edge to see the two of them like that, clearly Chloe knew something about what was happening with Adrien, but she didn't look too eager to share.

Adrien frowned slightly and looked at the door. Why wasn't Marinette here yet? He stood up, ignoring the teacher's protests as he walked out of the classroom. He didn't exactly need school anyway, his private tutors at home had him learning at a college level years ago. He didn't need much more education than he already had.

His hands were buried in his pockets as he walked down the street, knowing by heart the way to his love's home. He looked up at the modest bakery as he came around the corner, a small smile pulling at his lips. Marinette always smelled sweet like the pastries she made.

He walked through the front door, sending a charming smile towards Marinette's father who was baking behind the counter, "Hello Mr. Dupeng-Chang, I was just wondering if Marinette was home. She didn't show up at school and I was worried about her,"

The large man was taken aback for a moment, "She's not at school? But she left an hour ago. Oh no, I better go look for her," He said with furrowed brows.

"Oh no, sir," Adrien said, "You don't have to leave your store, I'll look for her and make sure she's safe," He said with a kind smile. He knew the man didn't have complete trust in him, but that was to be expected of a father. "I'll be back before you know it," Adrien said before leaving the bakery. A frown pulled at his lips as he looked around. Perhaps he could cover more ground as Chat Noir.

* * *

He bounced from rooftop to rooftop, his sharp emerald eyes scanning the streets. People around him pointed and whispered but he didn't pay them any mind. He didn't care about any of them, he only cared about his princess, his sunshine, his lady, and he would find her.

He stopped with a small growl in his throat, extending his staff and following it up to look over the city. He closed his eyes and listened carefully. His cat ears twitched and he turned his head slightly to the left. There.

He jumped down into the roof below him and caught his staff, making a beeline for his own house.

* * *

Marinette banged on the front door of the Agreste Manor, trying to shout through the door, "Mr Agreste! I need to speak to you! It's important!" She kept hitting the door until it finally opened, a breath of relief escaping her.

"Nathalie, right?" Marinette said, sending a small smile to the woman looking down at her, "I need to see Mr Agreste."

The woman stared at her with an unimpressed look before stepping aside, "Come in," She said with an indifferent tone.

Marinette smiled at her weakly and walked through the door, keeping her head down as she thought about what she would say. This was important and she probably wouldn't get another chance to do this.

"Mr Agreste, a young lady is here to see you," Nathalie said as she knocked on a door.

"Send her in,"

Marinette took a deep breath as she watched the door open, walking into the room with a firm look. She took a deep breath as she faced Mr Agreste who was sitting in his desk. "Sir… I, um, I'm Marinette, I go to school with Adrien…" She said, anxiousness swelling in her gut.

"Yes, I know that. Please be quick, I don't have time for nonsense," Mr Agreste said, propping up his elbows on the desk.

"I think Adrien needs help," Marinette blurted out, "He hasn't been himself lately, he's been acting a little… crazy. It's like he's stalking me but not because we have class together but he keeps trying to get close to me and he's threatened my friends," She said, taking a deep breath after her explanation, "I-I think he needs a doctor…"

She could see the frown pulling at Mr Agreste's lips. A pregnant silence filled the room for a long moment before he spoke up, "I know."

Marinette's eye widened in shock, "What? What do you mean you know?" She asked, feeling like pulling her hair out. What was happening?

"Adrien has never had the soundest of minds, it's why he's always been homeschooled," Mr Agreste said calmly.

"He… what?" Was Adrien actually crazy? Has he been like this before? Has he hurt people before?

"It's quite complicated really, but see-" Marinette only caught a glimpse of furious green eyes before the glass window to the office broke.

Leather clad arms wrapped around her and a growl rumbled in here ear, "Stay the fuck away from Marinette," Came Chat's voice.

Mr Agreste frowned deeply and stood up, "Now Adrien, Ms Dupeng-Cheng came to me, we were just discussing something,"

"You told your father?" Marinette screeched with wide eyes. He could have exposed their secret to everybody.

"Shut up," Chat snapped, ignoring Marinette, "I don't want you or any of your filthy little butterflies anywhere near her,"

Marinette had to process that for a moment before her jaw could drop. She ended up stumbling back a step, further into Chat's arms, "You're Hawkmoth?" Adrien's father was Hawkmoth? Chat Noir's Father was Hawkmoth? This whole time he had been so close!

Mr Agreste held his arms up in surrender, "I won't do a thing," He said, treating Adrien as if he were a feral cat.

This wasn't good, not at all. They had been fighting Hawkmoth for three years with no avail, but now… Hawkmoth was _afraid_ of Chat, that was a very scary thought.

The feeling of a nose in her hair made her jump, the deep inhale putting her on edge, "Come on princess, let's ditch this freak," He said, picking her up bridal style and jumping back out of the broken window. He hopped over to the other side of the house before flying through the window of his room and landing gracefully on the floor. "Marinette~" He cooed as he set her down, nuzzling his head into her hair and causing a purr to erupt from the back of his throat.

"C-Chat... " She tried to push him away a little bit, freezing when he saw Chat's leather suit, "Chat, what happened?"

He blinked innocently a couple times before looking down at himself, "Oh, this happened after I combined our miraculouses," He said, tracing a finger over the red outlines on his suit. His belt and tail were also a vibrant shade of red now and the inside of his cat ears, a deep maroon. The thing that caught Marinette's attention the most however were the blood red claws at the tips of each finger on his gloves. The sight of them made her shiver.

Marinette managed to take a step away from him, her lips pulled into a small frown, "Does, um… Does that mean Tikki is with you?" She asked tentatively, a hopeful look in her eyes.

"You mean the bug? Yeah, she's in here," Chat said, pointing at the cuff links on his wrists, red with five black dots on it. Marinette gasped at what she saw, it was her miraculous, her earings. They disappeared as soon as Chat released his transformation, hiding under the rolled up sleeves of his pullover.

"Marinette!"

Marinette gasped as the small red kwami flew into her chest, "Tikki! Are you okay?"

"Marinette you have to take his miraculous from him," The kwami said quickly, "No one was ever meant to wield both miraculouses at once,"

"Shut up you stupid bug," Adrien snapped, pushing Tikki away from Marinette

"She's right, kid," Plagg tried to say, flying over to the other kwami and holding her. Tikki was scared, so was Plagg but he was putting on a brave face.

"I don't want to hear a word out of either of you, you understand me?" Adrien said, glaring at the two, "Now get before I find a box to lock you guys in,"

Marinette watched in horror as the two flew away, having no option but to follow Adrien's orders. They were bound to him by their miraculouses and they couldn't do anything to stop him.

"What are you doing? They're not you slaves," Marinette said, wanting to do something to save her kwami.

"Actually princess, they are," Adrien said with a grin, "They're just like user manuals for miraculouses and I don't need them anymore but since their attached, they can't leave."

Marinette's eyes widened slightly. How could someone once so kind be so cold hearted, "Adrien… what happened to you?"

A sad smile played on Adrien's lips for a mere moment before he shook his head, "Nevermind that, your dad is worried about you since you weren't at school," He said, wrapping an arm around Marinette's waist and kissing the side of her head, "I'll walk you back, it is an awful dangerous city after all," He said with a grin, leading her out of the house.

* * *

Marinette sat with herself in her room, sitting on the bed and hugging her knees. She didn't know that to do. She needed to help Adrien but she was in not position to do so without her miraculous. She felt lost without Ladybug. Who was she if not a superhero to the people? SHe was just plain old Marinette who didn't have the guts to take any risks or stand up for anything she believed in.

When she had gotten back to school today everyone was tense. Word of what Adrien had done had spread like wildfire. Not hearing what happened was impossible. It terrified her to know that Adrien had slipped so far, but she wanted to know why. Why was he acting like this?

She bit her lip and pulled out her phone, dialing the one number she never thought she would call voluntarily.

"Chloe speaking."

 _Ten year old Adrien sighed with a lovesick smile as he stared at Chloe. Their parents had set up another 'playdate' of sorts and they were sitting on the couch watching some reality TV show. "You're so pretty, Chloe," He said, fawning over her._

" _Well duh," She said, flipping her hair._

" _We should go out sometime," Adrien said, smiling at her, "Like on a date or something,"_

 _Chloe scrunched up her nose in disgust, "Why would I go on a date with you?"_

" _Aw come on, Chloe," Adrien said, losing none of his enthusiasm, "It would be fun, don't you think?" He had been pinning after her for months even though he got a negative response every time he asked._

" _No, I think it would be a waste of time," She said with a scoff, "Why can't Miranda just leave Taylor alone, Taylor is obviously prettier," She said in distress towards the television._

" _Why not Chloe?" Adrien asked with a slightly deflated look._

 _She raised a brow and tore her eyes away from the television to look at him, "Because I don't like you," She said bluntly._

 _Adrien's smile fell slowly at the denial, "But…" He dropped his head, his bangs covering his eyes. "Why not!" He shouted, jumping up and pushing Chloe down onto the couch._

" _Adrien what are you doing?" She asked in distress, "My hair!"_

 _An uncharacteristic scowl graced his lips as he held her down, "Why not, huh?! You don't want to be with me?! I not good enough?" He shouted._

 _Chloe's eyes were wide in shock, "What are you talking about, Adrien…?" She asked, fear slowly registering in her._

" _I'm talking about my love for you," He said with a smile, running his knuckles down her cheek, "And I'm tired of being ignored…"_

"Then I started acting like I liked him and he actually got tired of me eventually. I thought he had gone back to normal but I guess not," There was a pause for Chloe spoke up again, "If you tell anyone I said any of that, I'll deny it," She said before hanging up."Then I started acting like I liked him and he actually got tired of me eventually. I thought he had gone back to normal but I guess not," There was a pause for Chloe spoke up again, "If you tell anyone I said any of that, I'll deny it," She said before hanging up.

* * *

 **Wow! It's been a long time. To be honest I kinda dropped this fic and then I rewatched Miraculous and I was like, "Oh my god! I totally have to write this!" So here it is! Leave reviews about what you think! And more importantly, what you think will happen next.**


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